"Clown Prince" Weekly Blather; April 30th

A Patriotic Response To The "Clown Prince;" 04/30/2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011

"barackingham Palace"
District of Corruption
    After the worst recession since the Great Depression, our economy is growing again, and we’ve gained almost 2 million private sector jobs over the last 13 months. But I also know that a lot of folks aren’t feeling as positive as some of those statistics might suggest. It’s still too hard to find a job. And even if you have a job, chances are you’re having a tougher time paying the rising costs of everything from groceries to gas. In some places, gas is now more than $4 a gallon, meaning that you could be paying upwards of $50 or $60 to fill up your tank.  Of course, while rising gas prices mean real pain for our families at the pump, they also mean bigger profits for oil companies. This week, the largest oil companies announced that they’d made more than $25 billion in the first few months of 2011 – up about 30 percent from last year.  Now, I don’t have a problem with any company or industry being rewarded for their success. The incentive of healthy profits is what fuels entrepreneurialism and helps drives our economy forward. But I do have a problem with the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies we’ve been handing out to oil and gas companies – to the tune of $4 billion a year. When oil companies are making huge profits and you’re struggling at the pump, and we’re scouring the federal budget for spending we can afford to do without, these tax giveaways aren’t right. They aren’t smart. And we need to end them.
[What I'm not telling you:  I had hoped all this 'silliness' with Donald Trump calling for the release of my 'Certificate of Live Birth (CoLB) would have held the economy and my less-than-stellar energy policy off the front pages for longer than it has!  But--alas--we must focus on them now.  Before that, a bit about my CoLB:  I fully intend to fire the individual(s) involved with it's 'manufacture!'  The document is hopelessly inadequate in it's semblance of authenticity.  Websites and blogs are popping up all over the place, questioning it's authenticity and--at least to my closest czars--illustrating a plausable case for outright fraud; for 'filing a false instrument!'  This, after adequate investigation, could easily subject me to impeachment proceedings in the U.S. House of Representatives.  We have travelled too far down the 'one-world government' path to allow this obstruction to occur!
    Now, on to less important things:  the economy, the domestic energy policy and the 'price-at-the-pump.'  I'm being told the American people are fed up with my stall tactics; my obfuscations on these topics!  The 'price-at-the-pump' is affected by several factors: cost of crude oil; cost of refining and transportation; miscellaneous production expenses; general inflation.   The cost of crude oil is controlled by the producers, mostly members of OPEC.  All my 'ass-kissing' in the Middle-East seems to be paying off:  the price of crude oil is edging up, nicely.  As I said during my "Campaign of Fluff," I wouldn't mind $5-gas, I just don't want the prices to go up at a rate that the American voter will be upset to the point of actually blaming me!!  While I blather on about all those 'evil oil companies' making a profit, what you're not hearing is the 'profit' made by the federal government.   There are all kids of fees for all kinds of permits required by the federal government through the EPA.  For instance:  Recently Shell Oil was refused a drilling permit due to air quality issues involving a small village more than 70 miles from the proposed drilling site.  Certainly any impurities  will have dissipated long before they might have reached the aforementioned village!   At the time of the EPA refusal, Shell Oil had more than FOUR BILLION DOLLARS invested in the project that was lost due to the refusal.  As is normal with any manufacturing, production, retail, enterprise; most--if not all--added operational expenses are added to the end consumer.
    In all fairness (if that's even a part of the fascist lexicon?)  if we're to look toward the elimination of oil production subsidies then we should visit the reduction/elimination of all subsidies!  These would include crop subsidies--primarily corn for ethenol--'big-agri' subsidies, individual farmer subsidies (pay for no-grow), ethenol production, transportation subsidies, forced ethenol inclusion in retail fuels, wind energy subsidies, solar energy subsidies, geo-thermal energy subsidies, hybrid and electric vehicle production subsidies, the $7,500 retail sales bribes, et al.  While we're at it, why don't we explore one of Donald Trump's good ideas: countries we both fight for and against; other dictators we 'prop up,' fund said actions??  Billions of dollars we can ill afford are invested in these asinine actions.  It's about time we recouped some of the expense we incur.]
    That’s why, earlier this week, I renewed my call to Congress to stop subsidizing the oil and gas industries. Understand, I’m not opposed to producing oil. I believe that if we’re serious about meeting our energy challenge, we need to operate on all cylinders, and that means pursuing a broad range of energy policies, including safe and responsible oil production here at home. In fact, last year, America’s oil production reached its highest level since 2003.  But I also believe that instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, we should invest in tomorrow’s – and that’s what we’ve been doing. Already, we’ve seen how the investments we’re making in clean energy can lead to new jobs and new businesses. I’ve seen some of them myself – small businesses that are making the most of solar and wind power, and energy-efficient technologies; big companies that are making fuel-efficient cars and trucks part of their vehicle fleets. And to promote these kinds of vehicles, we implemented historic new fuel-economy standards, which could save you as much as $3,000 at the pump.  Now, I know that in this tough fiscal environment, it’s tempting for some in Washington to want to cut our investments in clean energy. And I absolutely agree that the only way we’ll be able to afford the things we need is if we cut the things we don’t, and live within our means. But I refuse to cut things like clean energy that will help America win the future by growing our economy and creating good-paying jobs; that will help make America more secure; and that will help clean up our planet in the process. An investment in clean energy today is an investment in a better tomorrow. And I think that’s an investment worth making.
[What I'm not telling you:  The Congress stopping the oil company subsidies won't make one whit of difference!!  It's just the difference of 'the left pocket vs the right pocket!'  Actually, it will be doubly-detrimental to the American Taxpayer:  When the federal government stops paying those oil company subsidies, will that $4 billion be divided among either taxpayers or retail fuel purchasers?  Not very dam' likely!!  So the taxpayer is still paying that $4 bln into the government in the form of income taxes.  When the oil companies loose that $4 bln in 'income,' they have a fiduciary responsiblity to their shareholders to make it up somewhere else.  Guess where that 'somewhere else' is??  You win!!  The pump-price of gas and diesel!!  See:  I've managed to add another 'expense' to the gas end-user, without calling it a tax!!  The same principle applies to the fuel economy standards.  All these federally mandated changes cost money, and in the case of forced ethanol useage actually reduces fuel economy and causes earlier-than-normal parts and engine destruction!!  (Want more government interference in your daily lives-we got lot'sa plans we've yet to implement!!)  Remember 'investment??'  That's my euphemism for "pissin' money away on unsustainable products and projects!!"  I'm all for a one-world government....and....I never expected it to be so easy!!  Come ON, people!!  Wake up!!  All these subsidies for unsustainable energy sources is just ridiculous, even to me!!  You're making all this just too easy for Soros!!  Put up a fight, dam'mit!!]